Chaperone biomarkers of lifespan and penetrance track the dosages of many other proteins.

Many traits vary among isogenic individuals in homogeneous environments. In microbes, plants and animals, variation in the protein chaperone system affects many such traits. In the animal model C. elegans, the expression level of hsp-16.2 chaperone biomarkers correlates with or predicts the penetrance of mutations and lifespan after heat shock. But the physiological mechanisms causing cells to express different amounts of the biomarker were unknown. Here, we used an in vivo microscopy approach to dissect different contributions to cell-to-cell variation in hsp-16.2 expression in the intestines of young adult animals, which generate the most lifespan predicting signal. While we detected both cell autonomous intrinsic noise and signaling noise, we found both contributions were relatively unimportant. The major contributor to cell-to-cell variation in biomarker expression was general differences in protein dosage. The hsp-16.2 biomarker reveals states of high or low effective dosage for many genes.

Cryoprotectant toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

We have looked at the effects of the cryoprotectant M22 upon viability in the model organism C. elegans. M22 is a well-known vitrification solution which has been successfully used in the laboratory to preserve organs destined for transplantation. M22 reduces survival of C. elegans in a concentration-dependent manner. M22 at concentrations of 10% (v/v) or higher inhibits progeny production and development. A few mutants in the ILS (insulin-like signaling) pathway of C. elegans are more resistant to the toxic effect of M22 compared to wild-type worms. Afatinib, an anti-cancer drug, protects against M22 toxicity. Afatinib by itself does not increase longevity.

Movement decline across lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans mutants in the insulin/insulin-like signaling pathway.

Research in aging biology has identified several pathways that are molecularly conserved across species that extend lifespan when mutated. The insulin/insulin-like signaling (IIS) pathway is one of the most widely studied of these. It has been assumed that extending lifespan also extends healthspan (the period of life with minimal functional loss). However, data supporting this assumption conflict and recent evidence suggest that life extension may, in and of itself, extend the frail period. In this study, we use Caenorhabditis elegans to further probe the link between lifespan and healthspan. Using movement decline as a measure of health, we assessed healthspan across the entire lifespan in nine IIS pathway mutants. In one series of experiments, we studied healthspan in mass cultures, and in another series, we studied individuals longitudinally. We found that long-lived mutants display prolonged mid-life movement and do not prolong the frailty period. Lastly, we observed that early-adulthood movement was not predictive of late-life movement or survival, within identical phenotypes. Overall, these observations show that extending lifespan does not prolong the period of frailty. Both genotype and a stochastic component modulate aging, and movement late in life is more variable than early-life movement.

Environmental Canalization of Life Span and Gene Expression in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Animals, particularly poikilotherms, exhibit distinct physiologies at different environmental temperatures. Here, we hypothesized that temperature-based differences in physiology could affect the amount of variation in complex quantitative traits. Specifically, we examined, in Caenorhabditis elegans, how different temperatures (15°C, 20°C, and 25°C) affected the amount of interindividual variation in life span and also expression of three reporter genes-transcriptional reporters for vit-2, gpd-2, and hsp-16.2 (a life-span biomarker). We found the expected inverse relationship between temperature and average life span. Surprisingly, we found that at the highest temperature, there were fewer differences between individuals in life span and less interindividual variation in expression of all three reporters. We suggest that growth at 25°C might canalize (reduce interindividual differences in) life span and expression of some genes by eliciting a small constitutive heat shock response. Growth at 25°C requires wild-type hsf-1, which encodes the main heat shock response transcriptional activator. We speculate that increased chaperone activity at 25°C may reduce interindividual variation in gene expression by increasing protein folding efficiency. We hypothesize that reduced variation in gene expression may ultimately cause reduced variation in life span.

Caenorhabditis elegans Genes Affecting Interindividual Variation in Life-span Biomarker Gene Expression.

Genetically identical organisms grown in homogenous environments differ in quantitative phenotypes. Differences in one such trait, expression of a single biomarker gene, can identify isogenic cells or organisms that later manifest different fates. For example, in isogenic populations of young adult Caenorhabditis elegans, differences in Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) expressed from the hsp-16.2 promoter predict differences in life span. Thus, it is of interest to determine how interindividual differences in biomarker gene expression arise. Prior reports showed that the thermosensory neurons and insulin signaling systems controlled the magnitude of the heat shock response, including absolute expression of hsp-16.2. Here, we tested whether these regulatory signals might also influence variation in hsp-16.2 reporter expression. Genetic experiments showed that the action of AFD thermosensory neurons increases interindividual variation in biomarker expression. Further genetic experimentation showed the insulin signaling system acts to decrease interindividual variation in life-span biomarker expression; in other words, insulin signaling canalizes expression of the hsp-16.2-driven life-span biomarker. Our results show that specific signaling systems regulate not only expression level, but also the amount of interindividual expression variation for a life-span biomarker gene. They raise the possibility that manipulation of these systems might offer means to reduce heterogeneity in the aging process.

Single Cell Quantification of Reporter Gene Expression in Live Adult Caenorhabditis elegans Reveals Reproducible Cell-Specific Expression Patterns and Underlying Biological Variation.

In multicellular organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans, differences in complex phenotypes such as lifespan correlate with the level of expression of particular engineered reporter genes. In single celled organisms, quantitative understanding of responses to extracellular signals and of cell-to-cell variation in responses has depended on precise measurement of reporter gene expression. Here, we developed microscope-based methods to quantify reporter gene expression in cells of Caenorhabditis elegans with low measurement error. We then quantified expression in strains that carried different configurations of Phsp-16.2-fluorescent-protein reporters, in whole animals, and in all 20 cells of the intestine tissue, which is responsible for most of the fluorescent signal. Some animals bore more recently developed single copy Phsp-16.2 reporters integrated at defined chromosomal sites, others, "classical" multicopy reporter gene arrays integrated at random sites. At the level of whole animals, variation in gene expression was similar: strains with single copy reporters showed the same amount of animal-to-animal variation as strains with multicopy reporters. At the level of cells, in animals with single copy reporters, the pattern of expression in cells within the tissue was highly stereotyped. In animals with multicopy reporters, the cell-specific expression pattern was also stereotyped, but distinct, and somewhat more variable. Our methods are rapid and gentle enough to allow quantification of expression in the same cells of an animal at different times during adult life. They should allow investigators to use changes in reporter expression in single cells in tissues as quantitative phenotypes, and link those to molecular differences. Moreover, by diminishing measurement error, they should make possible dissection of the causes of the remaining, real, variation in expression. Understanding such variation should help reveal its contribution to differences in complex phenotypic outcomes in multicellular organisms.

Predicting longevity in C. elegans: fertility, mobility and gene expression.

Expression level of an hsp-16.2::gfp transgene is a predictor of longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we examine fertility, movement and longevity, comparing high-expressing ("bright") and low-expressing ("dim") animals. There was no differential fertility between bright and dim individuals, suggesting that dim worms were not excessively frail. Worms with high hsp-16.2::gfp expression had improved mobility, consistent with improved health span. We predicted that the increased longevity of the bright worms would be associated with increased expression of protective genes such as those shown to be upregulated in Age mutants. However, few genes were differentially transcribed, although internal controls (hsp-16.2 and family members) were differentially expressed. Quite surprising was the observation that expression level of the transgenic reporter was inherited by the progeny: in seven experiments bright worms consistently produced progeny that were brighter. We tested and ruled out possible artifacts such as differential copy-number of the transgene as an explanation of this differential brightness. These results suggest that a robust physiological state does not depend heavily upon transcriptional differences for its establishment, consistent with proteostatic mechanisms underlying the differential longevity.

Fertility/longevity trade-offs under limiting-male conditions in mating populations of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Evolutionary theories of aging suggest that trade-offs between longevity and fitness should be found under certain conditions. In C. elegans, there is little evidence for the existence of such trade-offs. We asked if fertility/longevity trade-offs exist in populations of randomly mating males and hermaphrodites. We set up a large population of young males and 5-day-old hermaphrodites that were no longer self-fertile. We then allowed them to mate for one day with an equal number young males and then separated hermaphrodites to individual plates and determined daily fertility of individual hermaphrodites. There was a significant negative relationship between late-life fertility and individual longevity.

Expression of a single-copy hsp-16.2 reporter predicts life span.

The level of green fluorescent protein expression from an hsp-16.2-based transcriptional reporter predicts life span and thermotolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans. The initial report used a high-copy number reporter integrated into chromosome IV. There was concern that the life-span prediction power of this reporter was not attributable solely to hsp-16.2 output. Specifically, prediction power could stem from disruption of some critical piece of chromatin on chromosome IV by the gpIs1 insertion, a linked mutation from the process used to create the reporter, or from an artifact of transgene regulation (multicopy transgenes are subject to regulation by C elegans chromatin surveillance machinery). Here we determine if the ability to predict life span and thermotolerance is specific to the gpIs1 insertion or a general property of hsp-16.2-based reporters. New single-copy hsp-16.2-based reporters predict life span and thermotolerance. We conclude that prediction power of hsp-16.2-based transcriptional reporters is not an artifact of any specific transgene configuration or chromatin surveillance mechanism.

Genetic dissection of late-life fertility in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The large post-reproductive life span reported for the free-living hermaphroditic nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, which lives for about 10 days after its 5-day period of self-reproduction, seems at odds with evolutionary theory. Species with long post-reproductive life spans such as mammals are sometimes explained by a need for parental care or transfer of information. This does not seem a suitable explanation for C elegans. Previous reports have shown that C elegans can regain fertility when mated after the self-fertile period but did not report the functional limits. Here, we report the functional life span of the C elegans germ line when mating with males. We show that C elegans can regain fertility late in life (significantly later than in previous reports) and that the end of this period corresponds quite well to its 3-week total life span. Genetic analysis reveals that late-life fertility is controlled by conserved pathways involved with aging and dietary restriction.

Oxidative stress and longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans as mediated by SKN-1.

Oxidative stress has been hypothesized to play a role in normal aging. The response to oxidative stress is regulated by the SKN-1 transcription factor, which also is necessary for intestinal development in Caenorhabditis elegans. Almost a thousand genes including the antioxidant and heat-shock responses, as well as genes responsible for xenobiotic detoxification were induced by the oxidative stress which was found using transcriptome analysis. There were also 392 down-regulated genes including many involved in metabolic homeostasis, organismal development, and reproduction. Many of these oxidative stress-induced transcriptional changes are dependent on SKN-1 action; the induction of the heat-shock response is not. When RNAi to inhibit genes was used, most had no effect on either resistance to oxidative stress or longevity; however two SKN-1-dependent genes, nlp-7 and cup-4, that were up-regulated by oxidative stress were found to be required for resistance to oxidative stress and for normal lifespan. nlp-7 encodes a neuropeptide-like protein, expressed in neurons, while cup-4 encodes a coelomocyte-specific, ligand-gated ion channel. RNAi of nlp-7 or cup-4 increased sensitivity to oxidative stress and reduced lifespan. Among down-regulated genes, only inhibition of ent-1, a nucleoside transporter, led to increased resistance to oxidative stress; inhibition had no effect on lifespan. In contrast, RNAi of nhx-2, a Na(+)/H(+) exchanger, extended lifespan significantly without affecting sensitivity to oxidative stress. These findings showed that a transcriptional shift from growth and maintenance towards the activation of cellular defense mechanisms was caused by the oxidative stress; many of these transcriptional alterations are SKN-1 dependent.